After a week of zealous skewering at the hands of the press, LOST is finally seeing relief in the shape of rational observations. Are fans buying the spin, or is LOST's dip last week easily explainable? This weeks episode of LOST will tell for sure, but at least a few corners of the internet think they have it figured out.
There isn't a television show on this planet that doesn't have at least a few die-hard fans, LOST is certainly no exception. Even at its lowest ratings ever, LOST carries with it 12-million die hard, vocal fans willing to rationalize away the doomsy prognosticating of even the most cynical of journalists.

The defense to LOST's dip in th ratings that makes the most sense is that there was a universal decline due to Valentines Day festivities. What reinforces this defense is that all shows from 9:00pm on suffered a pretty proportionally lateral decline in ratings on heart day.

The other saving grace is that ABC is heralding LOST as bringing an unheard of share of the coveted 18-49 demographic to 10pm. Again, citing numbers that can be backed up across the board against any other show in the slot, any day of the week.

Tie this into the multi-platform and international success of the series and you walk away with little doubt that nothing drastic is going to change in the land of the LOST.

A couple of factors that aren't so widely discussed is the fact that the two episodes since the return focused on characters who were not central to the LOST core. 'Not in Portland' focused heavily on Juliet's back story, while 'Flashes Before Your eyes' was dominated by Henry Ian Cusick's Desmond character.

While Desmond and Juliet are fan favorites with fair followings, LOST fans know all too well how severely their own can react to new characters taking center stage. Take, for example, the volatile addition of Michelle Rodriguez's Ana Lucia in season two. Ana was almost universally reviled by fans. This seasons Nikki and Paulo have the fans in protest over having new faces thrust rudely into the mix.

February 21st's episode 'Stranger in a Strange land' features LOST fan favorite, and arguable lead, Jack in a revealing episode that threatens to reveal sordid details from the doctors past. Will the shift back to LOST's core characters bring the numbers up for ABC? Tune in February 22nd to find out.